After going back and forth for weeks/months to get the correct documentation for our home study to be finalized, we received word yesterday that it is in the mail for final signatures. Really looking forward to moving on to the next step! We also received positive news this week that Haiti has opened back up for accepting new dossiers. Now all we are waiting on is an announcement on licensing approval for our adoption agency. We are hopeful that this announcement will come very soon. Really praying that it will be announced within the next week or so, since Haiti has been saying that it should be announced soon since the middle of October.
It is hard to believe that we have already been in this process for a year. The journey in 2012 was filled with uncertainty and delay, but we are still confident that we are on the path that God wants us on. As we jump through all the hoops to keep the adoption process moving on our end we continue to be encouraged every time we hear ‘Kings and Queens’ by Audio Adrenaline. There is a part in the first verse of the song that gives me hope every time I hear it. It reads, “Like a drum I can hear their hearts beating. I know my God won’t let them be defeated! Every child has a dream to belong and be loved.” It is a constant reminder that God knows our hearts and the hearts of these orphaned children. He knows their longing to be loved and our longing to love them. He calls us to care for the orphaned children and we know that he will, in his timing, put all the pieces together to allow us to do just that.
We have had so many people supporting us over the past year and for that we are grateful! I’ve had people who have hosted Scentsy and Grace Adele parties just because they knew it would help with our adoption process. Others have consistently placed orders with me over the past year knowing it would help us. My mom has been purchasing Scentsy buddies to send or bring to the children in the orphanage in Haiti. At the end of last year we were so blessed to receive donations through the America World Adoption Eternal Family Fund. Our church collected $2,200 in December to send to the fund and we also received a $1,000 donation from another family. It was such a blessing to get notifications from AWAA that we had received these gifts in our fund. It is a relief to know that the next payment directly to AWAA is pretty much taken care of. Next we’re working on the costs of paperwork to the government to request permission to adopt.
In this new year we are filled with hope of new beginnings and so encouraged to already see updates on Facebook of children from Haiti coming home to their forever families. Last night I watched a video of a family in Maine welcoming their little boy home at the Portland airport. Though I have never met this family I shed tears of joy. The tears were both for this family and a little selfishly for me because the video is a reminder that this day will come for us too. It fills my heart with joy to know that the love that this family has been storing up for almost 2 years can now be poured out on a daily basis in this child’s life. God is so good and so faithful! Shawn, Eli and I are so thankful for prayers from everyone supporting us through this process. We ask that you keep them coming and we’re specifically praying that our adoption process would be complete before the end of this year. It would be such a blessing to have our little girl home for Christmas this year! J
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